This article has covered the basics of database design in the context of Microsoft Access. The main concepts covered were:
- The relational database model was created by E.F. Codd in 1969 and is founded on set theory and logic.
- A database designed according to the relational model will be efficient, predictable, well performing, self-documenting and easy to modify.
- Every table must have a primary key, which uniquely identifies rows in the table.
- Foreign keys are columns used to reference a primary key in another table.
- You can establish three kinds of relationships between tables in a relational database: one-to-one, one-to-many or many-to-many. Many-to-many relationships require a linking table.
- Normalization is the process of simplifying the design of a database so that it achieves the optimum structure.
- A well-designed database follows the Normal Forms.
- The entity integrity rule forbids nulls in primary key columns.
- The referential integrity rule says that the database must not contain any unmatched foreign key values.
- Business rules are an important part of database integrity.
- A well-designed database requires business insight, time, and experience.
- Occasionally, you made need to denormalize for performance.